A Visit from a Resident
by Iawen Londea
Summary: Wandering in an unknown place, Tim receives a visit from someone he hasn't seen in years.


**Author's Notes: Here is the first NCIS fic I've ever written! As always, please leave a review and tell me what you think.**

**A Visit from a Resident**

Timothy McGee walked and walked, searching. Surrounded by dark, he sought out light, or anything to indicate where he might be or which direction he should be going. He found nothing, saw nothing.

Tim didn't think he was surrounded by _anything_, but it was hard to tell since he couldn't see. Tony had once called him "McClumsy" but, in the darkness, he hadn't run into or over anything, hadn't felt anything brush up against his outstretched hands. As ridiculous as it sounded, he couldn't even feel the ground he walked on.

Confusion filled his mind. Where was he, and why was there nothing to see? By the amount of walking he'd done, he had to be outside, but when he looked up, no starlight gazed back. The blackness seemed the same looking up as in any other direction, and he'd tried hard to discern the sky from the rest. He continued to walk, for that seemed to be his only option.

"Hi, Tim."

He turned, and from nothing, a figure emerged.

"Kate?" He looked around, but there was nothing else to be seen. Just Kate and the endless black. "Where are we?"

"We're here," Kate replied, leaving Tim feeling distinctly dissatisfied, yet he couldn't help a small smile. The expression on her face said, "duh," as though the answer to his question had been obvious. He hadn't seen that expression in years.

"Wh-why-_where_-" Despite all his questions, of which there were many, Tim suddenly felt like he maybe shouldn't be asking them. This left him with nothing left to say.

"We're here because your heart stopped in the ambulance," Kate informed him.

_What ambulance? _He wondered if Kate would answer that, too, but she just watched him. He sifted through his memories, trying to remember getting injured or becoming ill. The last thing he remembered was sitting at his desk at NCIS, calmly ignoring Tony's attempts to needle him. Kate started to look bored, so he gave up.

"So... is this heaven?"

Kate's eyes narrowed like they always had before when he or Tony said something stupid. "Please, Tim," she said, exasperated, as she sat down. Tim couldn't see what she was sitting on. "Heaven looks nothing like this."

"So I'm not dying? You said I was here because my heart stopped, and you're dead."

"Yes, I am, but I don't know about you yet." She nodded to her side. "Sit down. You won't fall."

He raised his eyebrows in doubt, but bent his knees and sat--on nothing. Blinking, he looked over at her. "What do you mean, you don't know?"

"It isn't clear yet," she explained with a shrug. "I mean, the Big Man Upstairs knows, of course, but He usually keeps that kind of information to Himself."

"So, what are we doing, then?"

"For now, I'm here to keep you company until things become more clear. Then, either you'll go with me, or you won't."

"Oh. So, what should we be doing?"

Kate shrugged again. "I don't know. This is my first time doing this for someone. I was surprised they didn't send one of your grandfathers. They both say hi. I guess what we do is more up to you than me."

A pause passed between them. "What did you do when you were here... for you?"

She smiled patiently. "I wasn't here then, Tim. I died instantly, remember? My fate was clear to everyone, and I had no use for this place. I just went straight on."

"Right. Yeah, I remember."

They sat in silence for a couple of minutes--or was it minutes? Did time exist here? Tim began to feel uncomfortable, but Kate didn't look bothered. Her smile, as warm as he remembered, put him at ease, and all the questions he had about this place, what had happened to him, went away as a new conversation came to mind.

"We still miss you."

Kate's smile deepened. "I know."

"I hope you don't think Ziva replaced you. I mean, your desk is now her desk, and she's on the team and everything, but... she didn't _replace _you. She's her own person and we didn't stop grieving for you because she came."

"I know."

"Just because we all like her doesn't mean we didn't like you."

"Stop babbling, Tim. I know."

"Oh. Good. I always wanted to tell you that, but you were gone. Even at your grave, you weren't there."

"Is that why you don't visit it?"

He blinked in surprise.

"You're the only one who never came back after the funeral. It's okay, you're right. I'm not there. It's just a place, just a symbol. I don't need any of you to talk to me--it's all of you who need me."

"Is that what would happen if I die now?"

She thought about it, and then slowly nodded. "I imagine so. That's how it is for most people up here."

"What if--what if I don't want to die, Kate? I mean, don't I get a choice, a chance to fight, like they always tell people near death to do?"

"I don't know. Maybe. Do you feel like you're fighting or that you can?"

"No, I'm just here, wherever that is. I don't even know why my heart stopped. What happened to me?"

"I wasn't told, Tim."

Another pause.

"You should probably let up on the questions now. Being a resident of heaven doesn't mean I know everything."

"I can't help it. This is all... confusing."

"I know."

"How long until 'things become clear?'"

"If I knew that, things would already be clear."

"Oh. So, if I live, will the same amount of time have passed there as here?"

"I thought I told you to stop asking me questions."

"Right."

They didn't talk much after that, yet the visit was companionable. Tim wondered if he would remember this if he lived, if he would find out how he died if he didn't, but he didn't dare ask Kate. Her situation had been different, he reminded himself, but it was easy to forget that she didn't actually know what was happening to him any more than he did.

A new thought crossed his mind. "Kate? Do you think we'd be able to look down on Earth from here?"

Kate opened her mouth to answer, but paused. He watched her as she listened to something he couldn't hear. "We don't have to," she answered finally and they both stood. The smile she gave him looked both mournful and joyous. "We're leaving."

Tim wondered what this meant for him, and was surprised to find he wasn't sure which answer he hoped for.

"I really did like you, too, Tim."

**The End**


End file.
